Nicholas John Hannen
Sir Nicholas Hannen | |
---|---|
British Supreme Court for China and Japan | |
In office 1891–1900 | |
Preceded by | Richard Rennie |
Succeeded by | Hiram Shaw Wilkinson |
Personal details | |
Born | 24 August 1842 |
Died | 27 April 1900 Shanghai International Settlement | (aged 57)
Sir Nicholas John Hannen (24 August 1842 – 27 April 1900) was a British
Early life
Hannen was born on 24 August 1842. He was the 6th son (and 13th child) of James Hannen of Kingswood, Dulwich. He was educated at the City of London School and University College London where he obtained a BA in 1862 with honours in logic and moral philosophy. He was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1866. Soon after qualifying as a barrister, in 1868 Hannen moved to Shanghai to commence practice as a barrister. He married in 1869 to Jessie Woodhouse, the daughter of James Woodhouse of Henley-on-Thames.[1]
Career
Hannen held the following appointments in China and Japan:[2]
- Acting Assistant Judge of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan based in Yokohama(1871 to 1874)
- Crown Advocate, Shanghai (1878 to 1881)
- Judge of the British Court for Japan (1881 to 1891)
- Acting Chief Justiceof the British Supreme Court for China and Japan (1881 to 1883)
- Chief Justiceof the British Supreme Court for China and Japan (1891 to 1900)
- British Consul-General, Shanghai (1891 to 1897)
From 1871 to 1874 he was appointed Acting Assistant Judge of the
In 1881, he was appointed as Judge for the
In 1891, on Rennie's retirement, he was appointed as Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan and
Hannen was knighted on 18 July 1895 at Windsor Castle[10] and received the Jubilee Medal in 1897.
Death
Hannen was due to retire in May 1900. He died of heart failure, brought on by an attack of pneumonia on 27 April 1900. His death came just two weeks before his planned retirement and departure from Shanghai for the town of Wargrave, near Reading, Berkshire, where he owned a house, Lake Lodge.[11] Funeral services were conducted for Hannen at Trinity Cathedral in Shanghai and he was given full honours. Marines from HMS Hermione acted as an honour guard and pallbearers.[12]
He was cremated and his ashes taken back to England. In 1907 his ashes were lodged in the Hannen Mausoleum, a columbarium designed by Edwin Lutyens and built for the Hannen family in the churchyard of St Mary's Church in Wargrave.[13]
Hannen's successor as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was
Hannen Road
Hannen Road (海能路)in Shanghai was named for Hannen. It has now been renamed Hainan Road (海南路).
Further reading
- Clark, Douglas (2015). Gunboat Justice: British and American Law Courts in China and Japan (1842–1943). Hong Kong: ISBN 978-988-82731-9-5
References
- ^ Obituary, North China Herald, 2 May 1900, p 766
- ^ Obituary, North China Herald, 2 May 1900, p 766
- ^ North China Herald, 15 February 1871, p98
- ^ London and China Telegraph 9 December 1878, p1045
- ^ London Gazette, 10 January 1882, p93
- ^ North China Herald, 1 November 1881, p 451 and Straits Times, 8 January 1883, p2
- ^ North China Herald, 20 February 1891, p189
- ^ North China Herald, 13 March 1891 p305
- ^ Hansard, 10 August 1898, Appropriation Bill Debate
- ^ Edinburgh Gazette, 6 August 1895, p1147
- ^ Obituary, North China Herald, 2 May 1900 p766
- ^ North China Herald, 2 May 1900, p785
- ^ Description of the Hannen Mausoleum on the Mausolea & Monuments Trust website www.mausolea-monuments.org.uk.